Inter striker Lautaro Martinez experienced a moment of “liberation” when he took the decisive penalty to send Argentina through to the World Cup semifinals in a shootout win over the Netherlands.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, via FCInterNews, who highlight the significance of the moment in the context of the 25-year-old’s overall disappointing tournament up to that point.
Martinez had always been expected to play a key role for Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar.
Accordingly, the 25-year-old’s form in the group stage came as a surprise, and not a positive one.
Failure to score or assist a goal in three group stage matches, as well as in the Albiceleste’s 2-1 win over Australia in the round of sixteen, meant that there were big questions over whether the Inter striker could be a key man for his country in Qatar.
Martinez finally had his shining moment when he took the penalty that saw them reach the semifinals, and now he will feel a great weight off of his back as he heads into the semifinals of the competition.